The
Annals of Churchtown / Launch Addresses / 10.12.2005
Three Launch Addresses - Noel Linehan, Gerry Murphy and
Denis Hickey
Noel Linehan Address
Distinguished
Guest, Ladies and Gentlemen,
On behalf
of the Churchtown Village Renewal Trust I am privileged
and delighted to welcome everybody to our Community Centre
for this very important event here tonight.
I have always
been very conscious of the wonderful history and heritage
we have in Churchtown which was why back in 1999 - The
Year of the Older Person - I initiated a series of interviews
with older people in the parish to record their memories.
I video taped over 40 people nearly half of whom have
now left us. Little did I think back then that this initiative
would become such an important part of The Annals and
indeed that I would have the privilege to be so much involved
in its production.
While the
memories of individuals are important there is, of course,
also a vast archive of material out there in various places
about Churchtown:
- census
records
- Griffith's Valuation
- Title Applotment Books
- old maps and newspapers cuttings
- historical books
- family papers
and
- photographs.
The trouble
is they are all over the place and it is a mammoth task
to pull all this information together. Luckily for this
parish Denis Hickey was prepared to dedicate himself to
compiling all this information which is now available
in a single source.
The Annals
as you will see is a most comprehensive and impressive
tome. It is 784 pages long, has over 260,000 words, almost
300 pictures.
The Annals
includes:
* A Chronology
* A 250 page Dictionary of Churchtown
* All Griffith's
Valuation of 1851, enormous Census and Tithe data by townland.
* 150 pages dedicated
to our physical heritage
* A section on our
use of language and music
* 12 historical
essays
* The records from
the Irish Folklore's Commissions 1937 initiative in Churchtown
National School.
* 62 different articles
in the Memories section
and
10 maps including
a most interesting map of our 30 townlands.
As you can
The Annals covers every aspect of Churchtown's history
and more.
During the
past decade this community has undergone a huge transition.
The increased wealth and standard of living is evident
all around us in the parish. This is most welcome but
in making this incredible transition we could so easily
have forgotten our past. Luckily this is not the case
with the launch of The Annals.
You will
no doubt have observed the magnificent presentation of
images that now grace the walls of our community hall.
There are 14 panels measuring two and half feet by five
feet. Each panel shows 7/9 photographs of Churchtown.
The permanent exhibition is a gift from the Churchtown
Village Renewal Trust to the people of the parish and
it is my pleasant duty here tonight to declare this permanent
exhibition officially open.
Ladies and
gentlemen, I enjoyed working with Denis and Gerry to complete
The Annals of Churchtown and I am proud to be associated
with its launch here tonight.
The launching
of this book and the permanent exhibition of photographs
fulfils a long held desire of mine.
Thank you.
Gerry Murphy Address
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
In July 1997, the Churchtown Village Renewal
Trust was founded and, following a public meeting in this
very Community Centre and many one-to-one consultations,
the Renewal Trust published an eight-year plan with sixteen
objectives to be delivered by 2005.
The Trust's
plan and objectives was published as a 4 page booklet
and a copy was delivered to every house in the parish.
The first
objective was to develop the 1997 to 2005 plan.
The second
objective was the 'development and publication of a written
history of the parish'. In effect, recording our history
in book form was our primary objective.
… I
do not say this lightly … because so much has happened
since 1997 … but I believe that publication of The
Annals of Churchtown is the Trust's most important achievement
in our eight year history and I salute Denis Hickey and
Noel Linehan and the other 60 contributors who have made
it all possible.
While tonight
is for the book launch I would like to say a few words
about the importance of community service and the need
to encourage and support the selfless people President
Mary McAleese spoke so eloquently about when she visited
us in July 2000. She said;
"Community
spirit is built and sustained by people of big hearts
and wonderful imaginations, generous with their time,
their skills, their enthusiasm, who share a dream of a
better life for themselves and their families. They want
to live in an environment where people care about each
other, not a place of anonymous strangers".
That is why
we must think of the volunteers who serve us on, for instance,
the Churchtown Development Association, the GAA and other
community groups in the parish.
The Trust
could not operate without its volunteers. That is why
I also want to record my grateful thank to my fellow long
serving Trustees - Eileen Ahern-O'Connor, Margaret O'Brien,
Peggy O'Flaherty and Noel Linehan - for their support
and encouragement over the years … and for organising
tonight's launch.
In his address
Noel Linehan officially opened our Images of Churchtown
Permanent Exhibition. It is fitting that Noel, who has
given so much to this parish and community, should be
the person to launch the Exhibition.
For a moment
let's look at what we have achieved here in Churchtown
from a community perspective - we have this wonderful
Community Centre completely refurbished thanks to the
FAS project from 1998 to 2000. Over the last 20 years
the GAA has developed a magnificent sports facility that
large towns would be proud of and they have plans for
more facilities. And we now have our history recorded
for posterity in a wonderful publication that will keep
you reading for the next 12 months not to mind Christmas.
We must also
salute the commercial risk takers for their contribution
to the renewal of Churchtown. We must applaud these people
who invested to create jobs and infrastructure in Churchtown.
I think of Denis and Ann Fehin who opened Padre Pio Nursing
Home, Pat Kennedy who developed the Windmill Nursing Home
and LBJ Construction who developed Radharc Na Sleibthe
on Kerry Lane. I am especially grateful to Maurice Gilbert
of Ballyhoura Construction who took the initial and substantial
risk in constructing the Bruhenny residential housing
development. These people have served us well and their
legacy - the built environment - is there as proof.
I had the
privilege to write the Foreword to The Annals which has
allowed me to document and thank many more people than
I can do tonight and also, indeed to dedicate my work
on the book. When you have an opportunity I hope you get
to read the Foreword.
The Trust
is proud that it initiated and was in a position to facilitate
publication of this treasury of Churchtown's history,
heritage, folklore, language and memory.
People of
Churchtown, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen
… thank you.
Denis Hickey Address
A Dhuine Uasala,
Is mór
an onóir domsa, bheith I bhfúr measc anocht
'm ceantar féin le'm clan, 's mo clan cleamhnaí,
ar an oiche speisealta 's stairiúl seo, cun tús
a chur do Annalá Brú Thine.
Distinguished Guests,
I am deeply
honoured to be here amongst you in my own place, with
family and extended families, on this auspicious and historic
night as we celebrate the launch of The Annals of Churchtown.
Three score and four years ago I set out on the path of
learning in this very building. How fortunate we were
to have had teachers of the calibre of Thomas and Margaret
Wall, who between them devoted some seventy years to education
in Churchtown. They instilled in all their students a
love of culture, history and prose. Their enduring legacy:
the academic and commercial successes achieved by so many
of their pupils. It is fitting that they are remembered
here tonight.
The broad tapestry of Irish history depicts a rich mythology,
an earthy folklore, a golden age of scholarship, centuries
of occupation, the contribution of minority cultures and
creeds, the tragedy of civil war and the emergence of
our country as a nation of considerable commercial and
industrial stature.
On to this tapestry we have, through the Annals, woven
the various threads of Churchtown's past, enabling the
observer to set local events within a national time chart.
Local histories are the building blocks of national repositories.
Their very consistency is in stark contrast to the liquidity
of national history, where content appears increasingly
influenced by the pen of
revionisists.
The Annals
of Churchtown as the title suggests, is essentially a
narrative rather than a definitive history of the parish.
Its style and presentation is unique, signposting the
reader to a millennium journey through archaeological,
architectural, botanical, political, pictorial, social
and sporting pathways of our village and parish.
Our greatest regret is that so very many of those wonderful
people who made growing up in Churchtown such a joyous
adventure, have made their exit from our stage. You will
however, find them mentioned and behold many familiar
faces, on the pages of the Annals.
The compilation of the Annals has truly been a labour
of love. Some nine years in gestation and two and one-half
years in labour, it owes its birth to the dedication of
Gerry Murphy and Noel Linehan.
As Chairman of Churchtown Village Renewal Trust, Gerry
ensured that the considerable financial outlay, expertise
and professional input required for a work of this size
and scope, was readily available. His drive, encouragement
and vision were instrumental in the emergence of the Annals.
Over the final weeks of production Gerry gave unstintingly
of his time, frequently burning low the midnight oil.
His hand is deeply etched on the Annals of Churchtown.
Noel Linehan deserves special tribute for his unbounded
enthusiasm for the project. Noel's local knowledge, his
calmness, infectious good humour and his willingness to
transport me all over Churchtown and outlying parishes
on journeys of interview and discovery, made the collection
of material such a pleasurable task. Without Noel, I simply
could not have completed the work and we owe him an immense
debt of gratitude.
We were also fortunate to have had the consummate professionals,
proof-reader Carole Devaney, and designer Martin Keaney
as integral members of the team. Their dedication and
interest greatly enhanced the work.
Sincere thanks to those of you who, in opening your homes
and hearts to us, furnished a precious store of memories
and memorabilia. It was a wonderfully enriching - if sometimes
emotional - experience.
We earnestly hope that the Annals of Churchtown will inspire
other parishes to record their past and to learn from
the lips of the aged while they are still with us.
We acknowledge not only our visitors from Brussels, Bristol,
Durham, Lanark, Leicester and London, but also all of
you who have travelled from each of our 'Four Green Fields'.
Thank you for forsaking the comfort of your homes to share
this very, very, special evening with us. !
Go raibh mile maith agaibh go léir.
Click
here to see what President McAleese, Gay Byrne, Professor
John A Murphy and Maeve Binchy have to say about The Annals
of Churchtown.
Click here to see some
pictures from the launch.
Click
here to return to The Annals main page.
